Whether for pure branding purposes, generating revenue or audience engagement, a mobile application can give you a great edge in both B2B and B2C sectors.

To help you get maximum value from an app we have prepared this Mobile Application Buyers' Guide.

Here you will find 5 most important tips to keep in mind when planning to launch a mobile app.

1. Make it serve a purpose

At first, make sure you have specific business goals. They, in turn, will shape the purposes of the app. Design your app to serve a specific purpose in your customer journey.

Think carefully how you plan to serve your customers and which features are needed. Don’t give in to the temptation of having as many built-in features as possible. Instead of embedding 40 diversified features into the app, use the most relevant ones.

You can think of adding more features in the upcoming versions of an app. This will also prove that you are constantly upgrading the app.

2. Estimate a realistic schedule

Initial and post-release activities may take longer than expected. The soft release (a preview launch of an app to a limited audience) might take some weeks. Downloading the app and gathering early users’ feedback require a significant amount of time. Also, bugs are not easy to identify and eliminate at once.

Set realistic deadlines together with the developer.

Don’t beat the rush with handling marketing activities. Major marketing campaigns should be implemented after the initial release. At this stage, the first users have already provided their input on key features to be fixed. Promoting the app will be more efficient once you eliminate the bugs.

3. Ensure successful usability testing

Testing your application is vital. It’s the best way to get initial feedback and make sure that everything functions as planned.

Test the most important usability issues:

Does the app work smoothly on all devices and platforms?

Does the app deliver on its purpose?

Is it user-friendly?

4. Focus on quality over price

Today, the mobile app market has a higher barrier to entry due to intense competition. At the same time, customers have become more quality conscious. People tend to carefully select the apps they really need and want to use.

Hence, to get a successful app launch the emphasis should be placed on the quality of the product rather than on low-cost solutions.

Pro tips to help you allocate the budget:

Building a cross-platform application is more cost-efficient than building an app from scratch for each device.

Keep your budget flexible. Application development usually cannot be fit into a one-size-fits-all pricing. You will be most likely be offered price ranges instead of an exact price.

Save some funding for post-release improvements. Roughly 20-30% of the whole development budget should be invested in maintaining updates for new screen sizes, adjusting to new operating systems and other ongoing updates.

5. Is your developer with you years-long?

Your initial release should be just the start of a long-term collaboration journey with the developer.